Blame game doesn't alter our stance, says France

France was at the centre of an unprecedented storm of cross-Channel and transatlantic abuse last night which blamed Paris for the failure of the United Nations to approve an American and British invasion of Iraq.

French officials, although taken aback by the vehemence of the attacks, said the British Government in particular was attempting to cover up its own diplomatic failure and political embarrassment. London was trying to use anti-French feeling to persuade the British people to support a war in Iraq – despite the absence of formal UN approval.

At the United Nations, the French ambassador, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, flicked away British and American complaints that his government had made agreement on a resolution impossible by repeatedly threatening to veto it. "The majority of the members in the [Security] Council consider that it is not justified to authorise the use of force," M. de la Sabliere insisted. Earlier, the British ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, had scorned "one country" that had "rejected our proposed compromise even before the Iraqi government itself". There was no disguising that he was referring to France.

The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, went further in a statement to the House of Commons last night. "Sadly, one country ensured that the Security Council could not act," he said. "President Chirac's unequivocal announcement last Monday that France would veto a second resolution containing this or any ultimatum 'whatever the circumstances' inevitably created a sense of paralysis into our negotiations. I deeply regret that France has put the Security Council consensus beyond reach."

He was supported by his Conservative shadow, Michael Ancram, who said: "I hope that in Paris they will reflect tonight on what they have achieved."

France had made clear during the day that there was no question of bowing to the pressure applied by the Azores summit and abandoning its threat to veto any resolution that provided a short-cut to war. The Azores summit, in French eyes, was an exercise in high-level French-bashing, intended for domestic opinion in America and Britain. French officials rejected as "scapegoating" and a "blame game" the British claim that Jacques Chirac's veto threat had frozen the diplomatic process and prevented the war camp from gaining the nine votes it needed in the Security Council.

"In the last 10 days, the British resolution [setting a war ultimatum and six tests of President Saddam's willingness to disarm] has not gained a single declared vote," a French official said.

"The fact is that the great majority of international opinion is against military action. That cannot be explained simply by the fact that France said that it would veto."

France has said it does not believe that military action in Iraq could be justified while UN arms inspectors were making progress in disarmament. The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, explained in a BBC interview yesterday that he was opposed to an "ultimatum" that would provide an "automatic" trigger for war.

If the UN inspectors came back to the Security Council and said President Saddam was refusing to co-operate, France "would support military action", M. de Villepin said.